Someday she may save your life.

Koury, a second-year master鈥檚 student in Industrial Organizational Psychology, is taking a new approach to improve driving safety: researching the distractions caused by passengers in a vehicle 鈥� not the driver鈥檚 own lapses, such as drinking, texting or talking on the phone.

鈥淚 am hoping that this research will help improve driving behavior not only with the driver but also the people in the vehicle, too,鈥� Koury said. 鈥淭heir life is not only in the hands of the driver but with them as well.鈥�

Koury鈥檚 research will be among about 500 projects on display during 麻豆原创鈥檚 Student Research Week on April 2-5. Student work on everything from 鈥淩enewable Energy from the Florida Current鈥� to 鈥淭eaching Children with Speech Impairments to Ask Questions Using an iPad鈥� to 鈥溌槎乖粹�檚 First Exoplanet Discovery鈥� will be showcased.

About 190 graduate researchers and 380 undergraduate researchers are participating.

鈥淲e anticipate an immensely busy week, with more students than we have ever had,鈥� said Elliot Vittes, interim vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies.

The event kicks off with a seminar about combating the world鈥檚 most deadly infectious diseases, and the week will include professional-development workshops, student presentations, and an art exhibit based on research projects.

The opening-day seminar will be led by Professor Henry Daniell, who will discuss what 麻豆原创鈥檚 Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences is doing to combat cholera, malaria, anthrax and other infectious diseases that kill about 15 million people worldwide each year.

In the presentation, Daniell will talk about the 鈥済reen vaccine鈥� concept of low-cost medications and distribution developed at 麻豆原创. The concept created by using funding from the National Institutes of Health and USDA is being advanced further by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others. The seminar will be at 2 p.m. April 2 in the Cape Florida Ballroom AB of the Student Union.

Students in the Graduate Research Forum will present and discuss their projects from noon to 4 p.m. April 3, and students in the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence will present their projects from 1:30 to 5 p.m. April 5. Both sessions will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.

Various workshops on topics such as finding student funding and organizing research literature will be offered each day of the event at various venues on campus.

To conclude the week鈥檚 activities, a reception and art exhibition created by the university鈥檚 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) initiative will be held 6-8 p.m. April 5 in the 麻豆原创 Art Gallery.

The program, part of a five-year grant funded by the National Science Foundation, brings together faculty and students from the different disciplines to create new synergies. Researchers met with visual arts and design students to explain genetic coding, astrophysics, scientific breakthroughs and other complex topics. The student artists then created paintings, sculptures, drawings and posters to illustrate the concepts.

The STEAM Exhibition will remain in the gallery through April 7.

For a complete schedule of activities for Student Research Week, which are free and open to everyone, click 聽.

There鈥檚 much research under way trying to cure diabetes, especially in Central Florida. From Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and its focus on Type 2 diabetes and its connection to fat, to 麻豆原创鈥檚 groundbreaking work to create insulin from plants that could reactivate production of the protein in the pancreas, the possibility exists that diabetes may someday be a thing of the past.

But much of the research is specific to Type 2 diabetes 鈥� the kind that usually develops in adulthood when the body no longer produces enough insulin or the body鈥檚 cells ignore the insulin. It鈥檚 the most common form of diabetes affecting millions of Americans each year.

Very little research in Central Florida is focused on Type 1 diabetes, which is diagnosed in children and young adults. In Type 1, insulin is not produced at all and children must learn how to inject themselves to survive.

Daniell has developed capsules of insulin produced in genetically modified lettuce that could hold the key to restoring the body’s ability to produce insulin.

In 2006, Daniell鈥檚 research team successfully genetically engineered lettuce plants with the insulin gene and then administered freeze-dried plant cells to five-week-old diabetic mice as a powder for eight weeks. By the end of the study in 2007, the diabetic mice had normal blood and urine sugar levels, and their cells were producing normal levels of insulin. The research has continued since 2007.

鈥淎lthough more research is needed, I am hopeful that we will see a cure in my lifetime,鈥� Daniell said.

Martin Bernstine, the executive director of JDRF鈥檚 Central Florida Chapter, said the national organization has provided more than $1.6 billion in research grants since it was founded in 1970. It gave Florida鈥檚 researchers more than $22 million in 2010.

鈥淒r. Daniell鈥檚 research is quite promising, and we鈥檙e thrilled to be able to fund a local scientist working on such important work to our community,鈥� Bernstine said.

Bernstine says that while the organization鈥檚 focus is on Type 1 diabetes, his office provides a variety of services to people with Type 1 or 2 diabetes in nine counties including Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Lake, Sumter, Flagler, Brevard and Polk. In addition to funding research, the organization offers services including support groups and offering newly diagnosed children educational and support materials, including Rufus, a stuffed teddy bear.

Children use Rufus to practice injecting insulin by giving the bear 鈥渟hots鈥� of insulin.

鈥淒iabetes is prevalent, and we are dedicated to finding a cure,鈥� Bernstine said. 鈥淲e will continue to fund researchers who are moving us in that direction.

Daniell joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, a part of the College of Medicine, in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university鈥檚 first biotechnology company. He has published more than 200 academic research papers, speaks at conferences around the world and he has been honored by several organizations for his pioneering work. Daniell is only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences.

He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Bayer HealthCare of Germany, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture, currently fund his research.

The first grant, worth $3.6 million over five years, is aimed at determining whether a green technique pioneered at 麻豆原创 will help make treatment of hemophilia A more effective. The second grant, worth $2 million聽over four years, is for similar research for hemophilia B. The grants were awarded to 麻豆原创 and UF, which applied for funding jointly thanks to a longtime collaboration between scientists at both institutions. Duke University also is a partner for the research on hemophilia A.

Hemophilia is an incurable bleeding condition that affects about 400,000 adults and children worldwide. Hemophilia is characterized by defects in the gene that produces proteins required for blood to clot. Hemophilia A, the most common type of hemophilia, is characterized by prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially in the muscles, joints or internal organs.

Treating hemophilia is challenging and dangerous because many patients suffer fatal allergic reactions to the protein that doctors use to facilitate blood clotting.聽 The scientists are working on a way to make patients resistant to any deadly allergic reactions caused by the protein.

Treatments with the protein are also expensive. They must be provided in a hospital setting under supervision, and they can cost up to $1 million over a patient鈥檚 lifetime because of the required hospital stays and blood transfusions. Average annual treatment costs are $60,000 to $150,000, according to the National Hemophilia Foundation.

鈥淚 am confident we will achieve success sooner than you think,鈥� said 麻豆原创 Professor Henry Daniell. 鈥淲e are hopeful that this technique will potentially save thousands of lives.鈥�

The researchers are using genetically modified plants to encapsulate a tolerance-inducing protein within plant cells so the protein could be ingested and safely travel through the stomach before being released into the small intestines, where the immune system can act on it.

In mice with hemophilia B, when blood clotting factor IX bio-encapsulated within plant cells was delivered to the gut, it prevented fatal anaphylactic shock and complex immune reactions. The new NIH funding, which came through the National Lung, Blood and Heart Institute, will help propel the research to determine if the technique can work in other models and potentially to clinical trials thereafter.

鈥淭he collaboration has an excellent chance of developing treatments that improve the lives of people with hemophilia and, at the same time, help lower health care costs,鈥� said Roland Herzog, a professor at UF.

After Daniell mentored Herzog at Auburn University, Herzog went on to develop his career. He has received multiple awards for his research in hematology, including several NIH grants, a career development award from the National Hemophilia Foundation, an outstanding investigator award from the American Society of Gene Therapy and a Bayer Hemophilia Award.

Both researchers are hopeful that if future research bears out, this approach would be much safer and potentially deliver less expensive treatments to thousands who live with this disease.

While the approach is cutting edge, the NIH funding has come after Daniell and Herzog鈥檚 research was featured last year in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a highly acclaimed scientific journal. Bayer Healthcare of Germany, the world鈥檚 largest funder of hemophilia research, also gave Daniell a $200,000 grant in 2010 for research exploring the novel concept.

Daniell is conducting similar research on a polio vaccine funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and on diabetes funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

鈥淭he clinical translation of our work is closely tied with other projects in our lab, and all are showing promising results.聽 So I am very hopeful that this concept and technology will move forward soon,鈥� Daniell said.

Daniell joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, a part of the College of Medicine, in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university鈥檚 first biotechnology company. He has published more than 200 academic research papers, speaks at conferences around the world and has received many prestigious honors for his pioneering work. Daniell is only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences. He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

The 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees approved the creation of a new College of Dental Medicine that will expand opportunities for local students, create jobs and help Central Floridians lead healthier lives. Trustees voted unanimously to move ahead with plans to build the college at the university鈥檚 Health Sciences Campus at the 鈥渕edical city鈥� in Lake Nona. 麻豆原创 is not seeking state funding for the project.

The college is expected to create at least 110 permanent local jobs as well as an initial economic impact of $73 million from construction. Additional economic impacts will flow from the research opportunities available to the college. Some of that research will explore the links between dental and medical health.

The college also will benefit the community by providing services at its dental clinic to those who can least afford care.

The project still needs the state Board of Governors鈥� approval to move forward. 麻豆原创 is striving to open the school in 2014 with a charter class of 60 students. There are currently only two fully accredited schools with students in Florida.

In other action Thursday, the Board of Trustees:

Approved a partnership agreement with Brevard Community College that would make W麻豆原创-TV the primary PBS affiliate in Central Florida. Pending PBS鈥� approval, which could come next week, 麻豆原创 and Brevard Community College will work together to begin offering PBS鈥� flagship programming on W麻豆原创-TV on July 1.

Approved tuition rates that will take effect in the fall. For undergraduates, the tuition increase will include an 8 percent increase set by the state and a 7 percent increase in 鈥渄ifferential tuition鈥� approved by 麻豆原创鈥檚 trustees. Differential tuition revenues are spent on need-based financial aid and on directly enhancing undergraduate student learning. The tuition increase for graduate students will be 8 percent. 麻豆原创 has been named one of the nation鈥檚 best values by Kiplinger and the Princeton Review, and tuition costs at Florida鈥檚 public universities rank 48th in the country.

Approved trustee ermeritus status for charter trustees Judy Albertson and Phyllis Klock. President Hitt presented Albertson and Klock with plaques recognizing their many years of dedicated service to the university. Hitt also recognized outgoing trustee Joe Mantilla for his service to the university.

Welcomed to the board newly appointed trustees Richard T. Crotty, Alan S. Florez and John R. Sprouls and new student body president Matthew McCann.

Recognized two Conference USA championship teams: women鈥檚 track and men鈥檚 golf. Trustees also praised the football team for posting a record 2.844 GPA during the spring semester. Fifty-five players posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Honored Pegasus Professors Kevin Belfield of Chemistry and Ranganathan Kumar of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering.

Praised Professor Henry Daniell for earning a $761,302 grant from the Bill聽& Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a polio vaccine.

Recognized retiring College of Sciences Dean Peter Panousis and College of Business Administration Dean Thomas Keon, who will become chancellor of Purdue University Calumet on July 1.

Recognized several 麻豆原创 students who served as legislative scholars interning in Central Florida state representatives鈥� and senators鈥� offices this spring.

Daniell has spent the last 20 years genetically splicing tobacco and lettuce plants to grow vaccines. As part of the grant, Konstantin Chumakov, the associate director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research at the Food and Drug Administration, will be a collaborator on the grant.

Chumakov will start developing the protocols that could be used for drug companies to get FDA approval to use vaccines made from the genetically engineered plants. Vaccines created from genetically spliced plants are cheaper and easier to make than traditional vaccines.

鈥淚t really opens up a whole new world for developing vaccines,鈥� said 麻豆原创 spokeswoman Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala. 鈥淸Daniell] is setting up the protocol for how another company could do this.鈥�

Source: Orlando Business Journal, , by Abraham Aboraya, Staff Writer. Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 10:00am EDT

Since 2000, 麻豆原创 Professor Henry Daniell has been developing a new method of creating vaccines using genetically engineered tobacco and lettuce plants to fight diseases such as malaria, cholera and dengue or biothreat agents such as anthrax or plague.

The awarded Daniell a two-year, $761,302 grant to develop a polio vaccine. Konstantin Chumakov, associate director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, is a collaborator in the grant and will facilitate advancement of this novel technology.

Should Daniell鈥檚 vaccine receive FDA approval, it would open the door for the production of a variety of cheaper, more effective vaccines around the world.

Click to watch a聽麻豆原创聽TV video聽news story about the grant.

鈥淚f this proceeds as we expect, it will revolutionize how vaccines are made,鈥� Daniell said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e currently using decades-old technology that is expensive and inefficient. Our new process is a game changer that could make a global difference.鈥�

Thanks to the global immunization effort, polio has been reduced 99 percent and is on the threshold of becoming the second disease ever to be eradicated.聽 However, 1,292 cases of polio were confirmed in 2010. Having less expensive and more accessible vaccines could help combat polio and other diseases that are of concern such as malaria and cholera.

Faster, Safer Vaccines

Currently, vaccines are made through a fermentation process that requires expensive equipment. Vaccines are made using killed, inactivated or avirulent forms of bacteria or viruses.聽 These vaccines also require refrigeration and don鈥檛 have a very long shelf life, forcing continual production. Injections require sterile needles and health professionals for their delivery.

Vaccines produced by Daniell鈥檚 technique are delivered in capsule form and are less expensive because fermentation and refrigeration are not required. This also increases the vaccine鈥檚 shelf life.

鈥淭his means they would be accessible to all people and all countries, even the poorest and most remote,鈥� Daniell said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I am so grateful for the opportunity to pursue this work.鈥�

Using plants to produce vaccine capsules has an additional benefit.

Once ingested, the pills activate the immune system housed in the gut, which is more powerful than the blood鈥檚 immune system 鈥� the traditional target of injectable vaccines for the past century.

Most importantly, Daniell鈥檚 technique does not use killed, inactivated or avirulent forms of bacteria or viruses but instead uses only proteins that could not cause any disease but are effective in stimulating protective immunity.

鈥淭his makes these vaccines much more potent, effective and safer,鈥� Daniell said.

A Career of Research

鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how excited I feel,鈥� Daniell said. 鈥淚鈥檝e dedicated most of my academic life to this because I want to make people鈥檚 lives better. My dream is to eradicate the world鈥檚 top 10 diseases, and this opportunity is a huge leap in reaching that dream.鈥�

Daniell joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, a part of the College of Medicine, in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university鈥檚 first biotechnology company.

He has published more than 200 academic research papers, he speaks at conferences around the world and he has been honored by several organizations for his pioneering work. Daniell is only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences.

He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Bayer HealthCare of Germany and several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and USDA, currently fund his research.

For the past several years, Dr. Daniell’s research at the Burnett school has centered on developing genetically modified plants to create low-cost vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. That work has yielded potential vaccines for a variety of the world’s most common infectious diseases like the black plague, cholera, malaria and metabolic disorders including diabetes and hemophilia.

The Gates Foundation’s “top brass” attended Dr. Daniell’s presentation including the science advisor to Bill Gates and the Director of the Foundation’s Global Health Program. Dr. Daniell then spent the rest of the afternoon discussing his work with program officers. He concluded his visit with a one-hour meeting with the Director of the foundation’s Global Health Program. Upon his return, he has been invited to submit a special project to develop low-cost vaccines against global diseases.

“I felt honored that the Director, program officers and science advisor to Bill Gates took a lot of time from their busy schedule to meet with me and understand our technology,” Dr. Daniell said.

While in Seattle, Dr. Daniell made an invited presentation at the University of Washington. His talk focused on how basic research and scientific excellence can be translated into effective medical applications.

Hemophilia, an incurable bleeding disorder linked with the legends of European monarchs, frail heirs and the Russian charlatan Rasputin, still afflicts many people today.

Treating the diseases can sometimes be just as deadly, though, because many patients suffer fatal allergic reactions to the expensive protein that doctors use to make their blood clot.

Now 麻豆原创 Professor Henry Daniell and a researcher from the University of Florida have devised a way that could help patients develop a tolerance to the therapeutic protein before they seek treatment to prevent the potentially deadly reactions.

Their findings were published online last week in the highly regarded Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the official journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and will be specially featured in the print journal.

Read more about their research on 麻豆原创 Newsroom.

A 麻豆原创 biomedical researcher has developed what promises to be the first low-cost dual vaccine against malaria and cholera.

There is no FDA approved vaccine to prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people annually. Only one vaccine exists to fight cholera, a diarrheal illness that is common in developing countries and can be fatal. The lone vaccine is too expensive to prevent outbreaks in developing countries after floods, and children lose immunity within three years of getting the current vaccine.

Daniell鈥檚 team genetically engineered tobacco and lettuce plants to produce the vaccine. Researchers gave mice freeze-dried plant cells (orally or by injection) containing the vaccine. They then challenged the mice with either the cholera toxin or malarial parasite. The malaria parasite studies were completed in fellow 麻豆原创 professor Debopam Chakrabarti鈥檚 lab.

Untreated rodents contracted diseases quickly, but the mice who received the plant-grown vaccines showed long-lasting immunity for more than 300 days (equivalent to 50 human years).

鈥淚鈥檓 very encouraged because our technique works well and provides an affordable way to get vaccines to people who need them most and can least afford them,鈥� said lead scientist Henry Daniell.

“We’re talking about producing mass quantities for pennies on the dollar,” he said. “And distribution to mass populations would be easy because it could be made into a simple pill, like a vitamin, which many people routinely take now. There is no need for expensive purification, cold storage, transportation or sterile delivery via injections.”

Clinical trials are needed, and Daniell is hopeful that the results with mice will translate to humans. It could be yet another example of plants delivering life-saving medicines.

Results from the National Institutes of Health-funded research are published in this month’s Plant Biotechnology, the top-ranked journal in the field.

To continue reading visit Vaccine Could Be Lethal Weapon Against Malaria, Cholera by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala.